Finally!

Turquiose blue waters, a light warm breeze off of the ocean, beautifully colored fish, warm hospitality and a relaxed Carribean accent rolling off the tongues of locals; just a few tid-bits to sum up my first day in San Salvador. What an amazing place of beauty! After 24 long hours of time spent in various airports and dealing with nerves of anticipation, I made it to the Bahamas safe and sound.

We got the chance to snorkel just a bit today in some of the coral reefs and I witnessed first hand the coral bleaching we came here to study. It is heartbreaking to see something so beautiful slowly dying. Coral reefs are vital animals to our planet. To name just a few of the reasons why coral are important to our planet, they help with wave reduction so that coastlines are not damaged, are homes to many small ocean fish, and provide economic and nutritional sustenance.

In our debriefing this evening, our Priciple Investigator, John Rollino, revealed that on this expedition we will be concentrating on creating mock coral, made from cement, which we will be putting in the ocean while here. This is the beginning of a 5 - 10 year study to assess whether or not "starter" coral can be recreated by human beings and can aid in helping natural coral once again be found in prolific and healthy amounts surrounding the Island. He invited us all back in upcoming years to see how our experiment will work. You gotta love ecology!

Tonight I will fall asleep to images of snorkling in turquoise blue water, enjoying a light breeze passing through my room, envisioning those beautifully colored fish "smiling" tomorrow when they see us enter the water to help save their world, and knowing that when I wake up and head off to breakfast, I will be greeted with that calm and relaxing Carribean accent by the wonderful locals. Paradise? I think so.